What Happened in 2012: After spending the 2011 season in Low-A, Profar jumped to the Double-A level to start 2012, and finished the year at the major-league level at the age of 19.

Strengths: Advanced instincts for the game; preternatural bat-to-ball ability; fluid swing from both sides; hard contact; hit tool projects as 7; natural pop; could be 5+ power at maturity; excellent pitch recognition skills/strike zone judgment; 5 run, but plays up in game action; glove is 6; arm is 6+; profiles as above-average major-league shortstop with above average major-league bat

Weaknesses: Playmaker with glove, but can struggle with routine balls he has to center; not a burner; at the plate, can try to do too much in the moment (all-star talent that wants to be an all-star on every play in every situation); his biggest weakness is that he doesn’t play for (insert favorite team here).

Overall Future Potential: 7; all-star player

Explanation of Risk: Low risk; reaches the major leagues at age 19; tools, skills, and feel for the game.

Fantasy Future: Could hit .300 with a very high OBP, 20-plus home runs, and steal 20-plus bases from a premium defensive position. Is that good?

The Year Ahead: From a scouting perspective, Profar is ready to play baseball at the major-league level. But organizational depth is a factor for the Rangers, and as promising as Profar’s defensive skill-set happens to be, Elvis Andrus is still the king at the position. Long term, Profar has a chance to be the superior player, with plus chops with the glove and a plus bat; the kind of player that every org in baseball dreams of acquiring. It’s not just the tools that Profar beings to the table that make him special, it’s the instincts and feel that not only allow game utility but push the tools beyond their paper grade. Only a few short years ago, Profar was widely considered a better pitching prospect than a positional talent, and several scouts and front office personnel were sure his desire to play shortstop would be short-lived and a return to the bump would be inevitable. How’d that work out?

Major league ETA: 2012

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